Platforms

The European Parliament adopted its negotiating position on the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Act with 499 votes in favour, 28 against and 93 abstentions ahead of talks with EU member states on the final shape of the law.

The European Commission has informed Google of its preliminary view that the company breached EU antitrust rules by distorting competition in the advertising technology industry (‘adtech'). The European Commission takes issue with Google favouring its own online display advertising technology services to the detriment of competing providers of advertising technology services, advertisers and online publishers. The European Commission preliminarily finds that, since at least 2014, Google abused its dominant positions by:

Silicon Valley is hatching new futures faster than the rest of the world can digest them. The artificial-intelligence wave, driven by the astonishing ne

Evidence of political, psychological, medical, and cultural harms associated with social media continues to mount, particularly in light of the many revelations contained within the documents and testimony shared by Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen. In many countries, efforts to impose regulatory safeguards related to the social responsibilities of these platforms are underway. In the US, however, we have seen relatively little consequential action at the federal level beyond ongoing antitrust inquiries, a continuing array of congressional hearings, and a series of bills that show few

Senator Chris Coons (D-DE) introduced the bipartisan Platform Accountability and Transparency Act (PATA) alongside Senate colleagues Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), John Cornyn (R-TX), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), and Mitt Romney (R-UT). The bill would require social media companies to share more data with the public and researchers.

The Federal Communications Commission voted to require video conferencing platforms—like Zoom, Microsoft Teams, or Webex—to comply with the accessibility requirements under the Communications Act and agency rules that govern interoperable video conferencing services. Video conferencing is routinely used by millions of people for workplace conferences, classes, and conversations with family and friends.

Presidential politics is serving tech leaders something they're not used to: irrelevance. From low-polling tech founder candidates to low-impact mega-donors, big tech wallets are finding it hard to make a dent in the 2024 race. The leading 2024 candidates — President Biden (D) and former President Trump (R) — are the biggest Silicon Valley skeptics in the field.

The cost to manage video streaming in broadband networks is growing 2-3 times faster than revenue, frustrating broader investment and affordability goals. Some 44 of 50 broadband providers report that streaming video accounted for at least half of all their network traffic, with at least 23 providers reporting that streaming video accounted for at least 70 percent. Three-quarters of broadband providers experience that video streaming negatively impacts their ability to serve their customers without additional investment.

Whether you believe that generative AI has the potential to change the world for good, or that it poses more risks than benefits, most experts agree it is likely to have a significant impact on the future of our economy and society as a whole. This is certainly true for the communications industries. From security to broadcast content, and from online safety to spectrum management, generative AI promises to disrupt traditional service delivery, business models, and consumer behaviour. The use of generative AI could also pose risks.

Telecommunications ministers from at least 18 European Union countries have rejected a proposal by network operators to have major technology companies fund the rollout of 5G and broadband. The proposal, put forward by lobbying groups GSMA and ETNO (which represent 160 operators across Europe), says that big tech companies that account for more than 5% of a provider’s peak average internet traffic should help foot the bill for rolling out the services across Europe.